George Clooney and Julia Roberts are always a joyful pair when they do movies together. Whether their flick is comedic, suspenseful, or serious, they always have perfect chemistry. In Tickets to Paradise Clooney and Roberts both play sarcastic and opinionated characters. The combination of their attitudes is where the joy is in the movie. Both are involved in crazy disagreements and have challenging egos which clash in an unexpected scenario in Tickets to Paradise.

Before seeing this movie, I kept thinking about Clooney’s previous film The Descendants (2011). Since Tickets to Paradise is also set in a tropical location like The Descendants, I thought the films might have more in common.  However, Clooney’s character in the former film has many more underlying personal issues. Tickets to Paradise, on the other hand, is filled with humorous moments and a risky scheme involving the main characters that results in lots of laughs. 

In Tickets to Paradise, Clooney is David and Roberts is Georgia. They are a divorced couple with a daughter, Lily, played by Kaitlyn Dever. Lily has just graduated from college and is on her way to pursue additional education in Law School. Before Lily’s days of tough schoolwork begin, she decides to go on a vacation to Bali with her friend Wren. Wren is played by Billie Lourd. With David and Georgia having lingering resentment towards each other, they both encounter a major problem when their daughter informs them that she is getting married in Bali.  Her fiancé is named Gede, played by Maxime Bouttier.  Filled with frustration and annoyance with their daughter, David and Georgia fly over to Bali in hopes of putting a stop to their daughter’s wedding. It is not that easy especially given with how much David and Georgia despise each other. Another crazy aspect to the situation is that Georgia’s pilot boyfriend Sean tags along. Sean is played by Rob Lynch. Tickets to Paradise is a wild ride of this divorced couple having to go through the crazy obstacles to stop their daughter’s fantasy.  With Clooney and Roberts in the lead roles, it is stellar fun with many twists as well as dialogue that is witty and heartfelt. I had a fun time with Tickets to Paradise.

The culture and rituals in Bali are a key element in the film and have an impact on stalling or stopping the wedding. From cursed islands and religious beliefs to egotistical and hysterical behavior, there are plenty of obstacles along the way. Tickets to Paradise will provide fans with good fun and they will get a kick out of the performances by Clooney, Roberts, Dever, and Lynch. The scenery is tropical and extravagant. Although the film is silly in certain moments, it is intended for positive entertainment.

Will the wedding go forward for Lily? Will it be altered? Can Robert and Georgia deal with each other? Find out in Tickets to Paradise. Three and a half stars.